Squid at Alki Junkyard

[Gooch]

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/22640176[/vimeo]

Any one know what this squid is doing? I thought it was the mama squid for these eggs but I couldn't figure out what it was doing with this action. A friend thought it was preparing to lay another egg maybe.

[Scubie Doo]

Not sure what it is doing, but that is very cool! It looks like it is depositing another egg.

[Tom Nic]

+1 on the depositing another egg.

[WylerBear]

I don't think they deposit eggs with their mouth.

[Tom Nic]

I've seen Caribbean Reef Squid laying eggs in crevices under rocks and they went tentacles first with them splayed out.

I didn't think they had other orifices???

[Dusty2]

I tend to agree that it is laying eggs. They do receive the sperm packets orally. It is logical that they would deposit them the same way.

[WylerBear]

Cool! Didn't know that.

[Gooch]

I thought I would put in a few pix of the squid action. I have another short video but the squid is just sitting very still on the eggs and looking at me with it's big eye.

[ktb]

Is it normal that the eggs are as big as the squid depositing them?

[Tom Nic]

I'm not sure, but I believe they are egg cases, not a single egg.

[ktb]

So there are several eggs in each one?

[Tom Nic]

That's my understanding.

[Dusty2]

Take a close look at photo #3 and you'll see the actual eggs inside the sacks. Each sack represents the output of one squid so that means that one big bunch of female squid created that clutch. These guys only live from 4 to 9 months so they have to produce allot of young to survive.

From the cephalopod page:
Loligo opalescens eggs are laid on sandy bottom substrates in 10-50 m depth, although there is a report of a shrimp trawler pulling up eggs from 800 m. Females encapsulate hundreds of eggs in a sheath that is made of many layers of protein. Bacteria grow between the layers and may serve as an antibiotic to prevent fungal infection. Females insert the egg capsules into the sand with a sticky substance that anchors them in place so that the ocean surge can aerate them. The presence of eggs on the bottom of tanks stimulates females to lay more eggs. Groups of capsules are placed in masses that can extend into egg beds. Some egg beds can cover acres of the ocean floor. The eggs take 3-5 weeks to hatch. The warmer the water, the shorter the incubation time. Bat stars, Asterina miniatus, are the most prevalent predators of eggs. Fish do not eat them, although they will nip at eggs not covered by the sheath. There is no brooding or parental care.

If your interested the article is here. http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/Lopal.php

[LittleGoat]

It is most likely not from the mouth, but instead from the siphon. It point in the same direction at the tentacles and arms. It is the area that the jet of water comes shooting out of in a threat response.